Call Me Later
by rgs38
Summary: A One-Shot based on the final scene of "Collateral Damage." We know that Sophie ended up in the hospital but this is my take on what happened in the time between she last spoke to Ed and the call was over. Some minor cursing, a little goryish


Call Me Later

_So I know that I've been saying my next story would be about Sam, and trust me, that one is eating a hole in my head just begging to be put on paper but I have way too much homework to devote that kind of time to one of my stories. So this is an attempt to silence some of the little writing demons in my head. A little one-shot loosely based on the last scene of "Collateral Damage" (which I only saw last night because, as I've said before, CBS sucks and doesn't want us to know the amazingness of Flashpoint here in the US). I still don't own anything, though I'm taking some liberties considering Clark is basically never in the show!_

"Yeah man, call me later. I'm not sure when my Dad's getting home and I don't want my mom to be alone, she's supposed to be resting. But if he gets home early we can catch a later show." Clark said as he and a friend stood on a street corner. One direction went to Clark's home while the other went to his friend's. They gave each other coy nods as they headed off in their separate directions. Clark unrolled his headphones and scrolled through his iPod. The quarter mile would be his time to unwind before going home and he was looking for something upbeat. _Yeah,_ he thought as he scrolled across a Mahler symphony with a quick first movement. Most fifteen year olds preferred Classic Rock to Classic Orchestra but Clark wasn't any normal teenager. Clark drifted into the beat as he found himself walking in time with the music.

He rounded a corner and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. _No new messages,_ he thought, _well that's a good sign._ Clark didn't like to keep his phone on during school but he had been trying to make himself more accessible. He hated getting out of class and seeing a message. Lately they had been simple things, his mother needed something and would ask him to stop on the way home from school, but every so often he would get a message from his mother or Greg telling him that his father had been hurt. His mind drifted as he remembered the conversation he'd had with his father a few months ago.

_"I know this is kind of weird for you Clark, you've been an only child for fifteen years, it's going to be a bit of a transition." _

_ "I know Dad, but really, I'm happy about it, excited." _

_ "Good, I'm glad to hear that buddy. Listen, I'm going to try and change some stuff around at work but when I'm not here, you're the man of the house. You okay with that?" _

_ "Yeah Dad, it's all good." _

The conversation was still fresh in his mind even though it had been months ago. Clark walked a few steps onto his lawn but then stopped and went to the mailbox. _Can't forget that._ Clark thought as he took his headphones off and walked up the driveway. The door was closed so Clark started fumbling through him bag for his keys. As he approached the door and tried to get the key into the hole, he realized that the door was unlocked. _Oh, Dad would flip out if he found out about that one,_ he thought as. Ed was paranoid about security, the doors were always locked and the alarm system always on.

"Mom, I'm home." Clark yelled as he entered the house and dropped his backpack by the door. He locked the door behind him and started to take off his light sweatshirt. "Mom...where are you?" He said again as he hung his jacket in the closet. He took the mail into the living room where he thought (hoped) he'd find his mother resting. He put the envelopes down on a table and walked into the kitchen, worrying now. "Mom..." He began to yell again as he froze in his place. His mother laid on the kitchen floor covered in dark red blood. Clark was by her side before he even realized what was happening. Instincts had taken over and he didn't even realize that he had dialed 911 and the operator was trying to talk to him.

"2156 Willow Street." He almost cried out as he let out the breath he had been holding. "My...my mom, she's seven months pregnant," He said as he gained a bit of clarity. "I just found her...there's blood everywhere." Tears were coming to his eyes but he didn't allow himself to cry, he needed to be strong now. The operator was asking something. "What?"

"Is she breathing?" She repeated patiently.

"Um..." Clark looked as his mother and touched her face, taken aback by how cold and clammy it was. "Yeah, yeah but it's...it's really faint." Clark couldn't help his voice from cracking and the tears from dripping down his face, mixed with sweat.

"The ambulance should be there any minute, can you open the door for them?" The operator asked in a calm tone.

"Yeah," Clark barley said, he didn't want to leave his mom but he knew what he had to do. He unlocked the door and opened it a crack. "Mom..." he got down on his knees and gently stroked his mother's face. "Mom, it's going to be okay." His voice was high pitched and he was doing his best to stay composed. "Everything's going to be okay." He assured as a loud knock came from the door. "In here." He yelled as he stood and greeted two paramedics. They knelt around her and spoke to each other for a moment before one turned to Clark.

"How far along?" He asked quickly.

"Ah, seven months." Clark responded nervously.

"Any other medical conditions? Any allergies to medication?"

"No, no nothing."

"What medications is she taking?" He asked as he looked up at Clark again.

"I...I don't know exactly." Clark said as he started to panic. "My Dad...my dad will know." Clark said as he whipped out his cell phone and speed dialed his father's number. It rang once...twice...three times...voice mail. "Damn it Dad!" He yelled as the medic looked at him. "I...the medicine cabinet, I'll take everything from that." Clark said as he bounded up the stairs, slipping a few times from the blood on the bottom of his shoes. He slammed open the cabinet and took every pill bottle. As he made it down the steps the medics were wheeling his mother out of the house on a stretcher.

"Come on kid." One of them yelled as he stood frozen in the doorframe for an instant. He grabbed his backpack and threw the bottles into it and ran out the door, jumping into the back of the ambulance as they got ready to leave. His mind was reeling. _Will she be okay? Could I have done something else? Why the hell wouldn't Dad pick up his damn phone? _Clark's mind circled until the medic looked at him. "You okay kid?" Clark looked up, broken out of his thoughts.

"Yeah." He horsily said.

"What's your name?" The medic asked him as he returned his attention to his mother's IV.

"C...Clark Lane." He said shakily. It was only now that his mother was being taken care of that he realized how scared and weak he was.

"Clark," the medic said in a serious tone. "I know it looks bad right now, but you mom's stable." He assured with an attempt at a comforting expression. Clark could only nod.

Things moved quickly when they arrived at the hospital. Clark's adrenaline picked up again as he jogged alongside his mother's gurney, fighting off nurses who tried to pull him away. He answered their questions but remained firm that he was not leaving his mother. The nurses eventually stopped fighting him when he said that he'd stay back and he stepped to the corner of the room. A lot of medical jargon flew around as he tried to take deep breaths and stay strong.

"Son-" A nurse had approached him and was looking at him with concern.

"Yes?" Clark responded quickly, broken from his thoughts again.

"She's going to be okay, we're going to move her to a room to rest now." The nurse said, still with the concerned look in her eye.

"Great, thank you." Clark said, trying to figure out how his father would react.

"Son..." She started again. Clark was worried, _what isn't she telling me? What's wrong?_ He was getting lost in his head again as she started to talk. "Will a medium fit?" Clark looked at her confused.

"Excuse me..."

"You...I want to get you a scrub top to change into..." She said as she looked at his shirt. He hadn't realized that he was soaked in his mother's blood. He suddenly felt cold and itchy and he started to panic slightly but he did not show his discomfort. He nodded.

"M...medium." His voice was heavy and it was obvious that he was shaken but she nodded and disappeared for a moment. Clark moved closer to his mother. She still looked extremely pale. "It's okay mom, I'm here." He whispered as the nurse came back with a green scrub top. "Thank you." He said as he put his backpack down on a chair. He turned to face the wall and swiftly took off his now red t-shirt and changed into the green top. He stood next to his mother for another few minutes until a man came into the room and approached him.

"I have instructions to move Mrs. Lane to the Recovery Ward." He said as he pushed up the side rails. Clark only nodded and grabbed their belongings as he followed alongside his mother.

He didn't really know how long it had been since they'd gotten to the hospital. It felt like forever as he sat and carefully watched his mother for signs of any discomfort or change. The doctor had come in and told him what was wrong. He seemed concerned about Clark. He explained that minors were not usually allowed in the hospital unsupervised but they would make an exception as long as his Dad got there soon. The nurses had been coming to check on his mom and him every so often. He always stood when they came into the room. He wasn't exactly sure why he did this, he just felt like he needed to stand, and hold his breath it seemed because when they left he collapsed into the chair and took deep breaths. It had to have been hours. A nurse had come in with a sandwich and water bottle for him, telling him that he needed to eat something. He politely thanked her but did not touch the food. He was stuck in his head, his thoughts jumping between worry and angry.

He wanted his mother to wake up. All day he'd been telling her that things would be okay but all he really needed was for someone to tell him the same. He wanted to hear his mother's voice and wanted to see that she was okay. The only thing that signified her life at this point was the heart monitor, beeping at a steady rate. He tried to calm himself by thinking of music, using the monitor as a metronome but it didn't help. As time passed he only grew angrier at his father. _Why the hell didn't he answer? He said that he would be accessible now that Mom was pregnant? Asshole._ Clark thought to himself, cursing his father for never being there when he needed him. He took a deep breath as he fell back into the rhythmic sounds of the monitors. _Come on now, I know that's not true,_ Clark thought. _I just need someone to tell me it's okay._ Tears were coming to his eyes and e was starting to feel a little guilty for being so hard on his Dad when he heard heavy running footsteps. His father appeared in the door with a look of worry on his face.

"You okay? You okay? How you doing?" His father grabbed his shoulders gently and looked straight into his eyes. Clark's voice cracked as he tried to hold back tears.

"There was so much blood...I was scared...I" Clark couldn't finish his sentence as his father grabbed him into a tight hug. Clark tried again to hold back his tears but, in his father's embrace, finally felt safe enough to let go.

"You did good...you were the man of the house today...I'm so proud of you." Clark cried silently into his father's shoulder as he gently rocked him, whispering in his ear. Ed was starting to feel his son's weight more and more as he slowly drifted off to sleep in his father's arms. Ed walked him over to the chair and sat him down. Clark stirred for a moment but exhaustion overtook him as he fell back asleep. Ed sat on the edge of Sophie's bed and put his head in his hands. _What else am I going to miss after this baby is born, for my job?_

_Had to get that story out. I really loved that scene with Clark in it, I thought it was just a very emotional/weak Ed moment and there aren't too many of those. So here are my thoughts on what led up to that. I know that the show says that Sophie called and everything, and that she'd regained consciousness before Ed got there, but I liked this better. _


End file.
